Method of wrapping a floral grouping

ABSTRACT

A method of wrapping a floral grouping, preferably an orchid, with a wrapper which may be a sheet of material, a sleeve or a preformed pot cover. The wrapper is preferably constructed from a laminated material made up of at least a waxy layer and a support layer which are superposed upon each other and connected or laminated to each other. A second waxy layer may be connected or laminated to the other surface of the support surface. The waxy layer is made from a waxy material such as waxed paper, waxed tissue or high density polyethylene. The wrapped floral grouping may also contain a shredded material for cushioning the blooms of the floral grouping.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The present application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No.10/077,714, filed Feb. 12, 2002, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser.No. 09/557,246, filed Apr. 24, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,357,204, whichis a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/037,658, filed Mar. 10, 1998, nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,052,968, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No.08/864,395, filed May 28, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,655, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 08/439,024, filed May 11, 1995,now U.S. Pat. No. 5,651,232. The specifications of each of theapplications cited above are hereby expressly incorporated herein intheir entirety.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

[0002] Not Applicable

BACKGROUND

[0003] The present invention relates to methods of wrapping floralgroupings and potted plants with a wrapper, in particular, but notlimited to, wherein the wrapper comprises a waxy material.

[0004] In the floral industry, when wrapping orchids for packing orshipment it is customary to use a waxy material such as a waxed paper orwaxed tissue paper. The wrapping must be delicate so that it does notbruise or otherwise damage the delicate orchids. However, waxed tissuepaper tends to compress in the package. When compressed in such a way,the waxed tissue paper loses its cushioning effect and thus does notfunction effectively to protect the orchids.

[0005] A wrapping material which is relatively stiff while retaining thesoft, cushioning effect of waxy material would be desirable for use inwrapping and packaging orchids and other floral types.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sheet of material used inaccordance with the present invention.

[0007]FIG. 2 is an exaggerated cross-sectional view of the sheet of FIG.1, taken along line 2-2 thereof.

[0008]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a sheet of material having afloral grouping disposed thereon.

[0009]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the floral grouping of FIG. 3being wrapped in one method of wrapping.

[0010]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the floral grouping wrapped in aconical fashion.

[0011]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a method of using the sheet ofmaterial to wrap a floral grouping in a cylindrical fashion.

[0012]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a potted plant such as may bewrapped using the method of the present invention.

[0013]FIG. 8 is a potted plant wrapped in accordance with one version ofthe present invention.

[0014]FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a floral sleeve used in accordancewith the present invention.

[0015]FIG. 10 is a sleeve used to wrap a floral grouping in accordancewith the present invention.

[0016]FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a sleeve having a cinching means.

[0017]FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the sleeve of FIG. 11 used towrap a floral grouping.

[0018]FIG. 13 is an elevational view of a sleeve having a detachingelement and constructed in accordance with the present invention.

[0019]FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the sleeve of FIG. 13 with apotted plant disposed therein.

[0020]FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a potted plant disposed in thesleeve of FIG. 13 after an upper portion of the sleeve has been removedto provide a pot cover having a skirt.

[0021]FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a preformed pot cover used inaccordance with the present invention.

[0022]FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the preformed pot cover of FIG.16 having a potted plant disposed therein.

[0023]FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a sheet of material having ashredded material and floral grouping disposed thereon.

[0024]FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the sheet of material and floralgrouping of FIG. 18 conically wrapped.

[0025]FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a floral grouping and shreddedmaterial wrapped within a sleeve.

DESCRIPTION

[0026] The present invention comprises a method of wrapping a floralgrouping or potted plant, preferably an orchid. The method comprisesproviding the floral grouping or potted plant, providing a wrapper madefrom a sheet of material having a waxy or waterproof material laminatedto one or both sides thereof and placing the wrapper about the floralgrouping or potted plant forming a wrapped floral grouping or pottedplant, respectively. The wrapper may be a laminated sheet of material ora sleeve or a preformed pot cover made from the sheet of laminatedmaterial. The wrapper may be further defined as having a portion whichis detachable via a detaching element, such as perforations. The wrappermay have a bonding material disposed thereon for bondingly holding thewrapper about the floral grouping or potted plant.

[0027] The sheet of material (or other wrapper such as a sleeve orpreformed pot cover) functions to substantially prevent or minimizedamage by being less compressible when wrapped about a floral groupingthan would be a wrapper made only from the sheet of waxy material usedin forming the wrapper herein described. In other words, the wrapperclaimed herein retains the benefits of a waxy wrapping material whileadding a degree of stiffness necessary to reduce the chances that thewrapper will be excessively compressed against the floral grouping,thereby causing damage to the floral grouping and especially to a bloomportion.

The Embodiments of FIGS. 1-8

[0028] Referring now to FIG. 1, designated generally by the referencenumeral 10 is a wrapper which is constructed in accordance with thepresent invention. The wrapper 10 is constructed from a laminated sheetof material 12. The sheet of material 12 has an upper surface 14, alower surface 16, and an outer peripheral edge 18 (one corner of whichis lifted for illustration purposes only). As shown in FIG. 1, the outerperipheral edge 18 of the sheet of material 12 comprises a first side20, a second side 22, a third side 24, and fourth side 26. A bondingmaterial 28 may optionally be disposed on at least a portion of one orboth of the upper and/or lower surfaces 14 and 16 of the sheet ofmaterial 12, for example, as is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,364,the specification of which is hereby expressly incorporated herein byreference. A decorative pattern 30 may be printed upon all or a portionof the wrapper 10. Possible components of the decorative pattern 30 maybe a lace-like pattern, geometric shapes, curly-ques, paisleys, swirls,squiggles, and any shapes generally associated with botanical items suchas leaves, petals, stems, roots, fruits and any other biomorphic shapes.The decorative pattern 30 may comprise a single color or a plurality ofcolors.

[0029] The wrapper 10 may be the sheet of material 12 for wrapping afloral grouping or a pot; it may be a sleeve for wrapping or covering afloral grouping or pot; or it may be a preformed pot cover for coveringa pot. Each of these versions of the present invention is described inmore complete detail herein.

[0030] As noted above, the wrapper 10, when comprising the sheet ofmaterial 12, can be utilized to wrap a floral grouping or a flower pot.The term “flower pot” refers to any type of container used for holding afloral grouping or a plant. Examples of pots used in accordance with thepresent invention include, but are not limited to, clay pots, woodenpots, plastic pots, pots made from natural and/or synthetic fibers, orany combination thereof. The pot is adapted to receive a floral groupingin a retaining space of the pot. The floral grouping may be disposedwithin the pot along with a suitable growing medium described in furtherdetail below, or other retaining medium, such as a floral foam. It willalso be understood that, in some cases, the floral grouping, and anyappropriate growing medium or other retaining medium, may be disposed ina sleeve without a pot if the sleeve is adapted to contain a medium.

[0031] “Floral grouping” as used herein means cut fresh flowers, inparticular orchids, artificial flowers, a single flower or other freshand/or artificial plants or other floral materials and may include othersecondary plants and/or ornamentation or artificial or natural materialswhich add to the aesthetics of the overall floral grouping. Further, thefloral grouping may comprise a growing potted plant having a rootportion as well. However, it will be appreciated that the floralgrouping may consist of only a single bloom or only foliage, or abotanical item (not shown), or a propagule. The term “floral grouping”may be used interchangeably herein with the term “floral arrangement”.The term “floral grouping” may also be used interchangeably herein withthe terms “botanical item” and/or “propagule.”

[0032] The term “growing medium” when used herein means any liquid,solid or gaseous material used for plant growth or for the cultivationof propagules, including organic and inorganic materials such as soil,humus, perlite, vermiculite, sand, water, and including the nutrients,fertilizers or hormones or combinations thereof required by the plantsor propagules for growth.

[0033] The term “botanical item” when used herein means a natural orartificial herbaceous or woody plant, taken singly or in combination.The term “botanical item” also means any portion or portions of naturalor artificial herbaceous or woody plants including stems, leaves,flowers, blossoms, buds, blooms, cones, or roots, taken singly or incombination, or in groupings of such portions such as bouquet or floralgrouping.

[0034] The term “propagule” when used herein means any structure capableof being propagated or acting as an agent of reproduction includingseeds, shoots, stems, runners, tubers, plants, leaves, roots or spores.

[0035] In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the sheet of material 12 is square.It will be appreciated, however, that any shape or size of the sheet ofmaterial 12 may be used to wrap a flower pot or a floral grouping aslong as it is sufficiently sized and shaped to wrap and encompass theflower pot or floral grouping. For example, the sheet of material 12 mayalso comprise other shapes, i.e., rectangular, round, oval, octagonal,asymmetrical, or the like. Multiple sheets of material 12 may be used ina single circumstance to wrap a pot or floral grouping. Moreover, whenmultiple sheets of material 12 are used in combination, the sheets ofmaterial 12 need not be uniform in size or shape. Finally, it will beappreciated that the sheet of material 12 shown in all embodimentsherein is generally flattened.

[0036] As mentioned above, and shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sheet ofmaterial 12 is constructed of an inner support sheet of material 32having an upper surface 33 a to which a first layer or sheet of a waxymaterial 34 has been laminated or otherwise connected and having a lowersurface 33 b to which a second layer or sheet of a waxy material 36 (thesame or different from the first waxy layer 34) has been laminated orotherwise connected. Preferably, the inner support sheet of material 32is constructed from paper, metal foil, polymeric film, non-polymericfilm, fabric, cardboard, or laminations or combinations thereof. Theinner support sheet of material 32 may be comprised of two or morelayers of material. It will also be understood that the sheet ofmaterial 12 may be formed with only a single layer of the sheet of waxymaterial 34 or 36 wherein the sheet of material 12 is bilayered.

[0037] The sheet of waxy material 34 or 36 may be a waxed paper, a waxedtissue or any waxed flexible material having cushioning properties. Thesheet of waxy material 34 or 36 may be a natural or synthetic polymericfilm material having a surface with a waxy feel which provides acushioning effect similar to the cushioning effect of a waxed paper orwaxed tissue. The sheet of waxy material 34 or 36 may be any materialwhich provides the beneficial cushioning effects of a waxed material andwhich has a waxy feel or properties similar to the feel and propertiesof a substrate having a waxed surface. The sheet of waxy material 34 or36 may be a waterproof material which has the cushioning properties of awaxed paper or tissue. Such a waterproof waxy material would repelwater, thereby maintaining the cushioning effect of the material.Examples of such polymeric films having a waxy feel are a high densitypolyethylene film and a polyvinylchloride film such as are commerciallyavailable from Georgia-Pacific Corporation and Minipak of Columbia,South America, respectively.

[0038] Any thickness or stiffness of the wrapper 10 may be utilized inaccordance with the present invention as long as the wrapper 10 isflexible and may be wrapped about at least a portion of a flower pot ora floral grouping, as described herein. Stiffer sheets may be scored tofacilitate folding. The sheets of material 32, 34 and 36 preferably havethicknesses of less than about 0.1 mil to about 30 mils. Typically, thesheets of material 32, 34 and 36 have thicknesses in a range of lessthan about 0.2 mil to about 30 mils. In a preferred embodiment, thesheets of material 32, 34 and 36 are constructed from single sheets ofmaterial having thicknesses in a range of from less than about 0.5 milto about 2.5 mils.

[0039] The term “polymeric film” when used herein means a syntheticpolymer, such as a polypropylene, or a naturally occurring polymer, suchas cellophane. A polymeric film is relatively strong and not as subjectto tearing (substantially non-tearable), as might be the case with paperor foil.

[0040] The wrapper 10 may also be constructed, in whole or in part, froma cling material. “Cling Wrap or Material” when used herein means anymaterial which is capable of connecting to the sheet of material and/oritself upon contacting engagement during the wrapping process and iswrappable about an item whereby portions of the cling materialcontactingly engage and connect to other portions of another material,or, alternatively, itself, for generally securing the material wrappedabout at least a portion of the pot. This connecting engagement ispreferably temporary in that the material may be easily removed, i.e.,the cling material “clings” to the pot.

[0041] The cling material is constructed and treated if necessary, frompolyethylene such as Cling Wrap made by Glad®, First Brands Corporation,Danbury, Conn. The thickness of the cling material will, in part, dependupon the size of the wrapper 10 and the size of the pot in the wrapper10, i.e., generally, a larger pot may require a thicker and thereforestronger cling material. The cling material will range in thickness fromless than about 0.1 mil to about 10 mils, and preferably less than about0.5 mil to about 2.5 mils and most preferably from less than about 0.6mil to about 2 mils. However, any thickness of cling material may beutilized in accordance with the present invention which permits thecling material to function as described herein.

[0042] In one embodiment, the wrapper 10 may be constructed from twopolypropylene films. The two polypropylene films comprising the wrapper10 may be connected together or laminated or may be separate layers. Inan alternative embodiment, the wrapper 10 may be constructed from onlyone polypropylene film.

[0043] The sheet of material 12 may vary in color. Further, the sheet ofmaterial 12 may comprise a decorative pattern 30, such as a lace patternwhich is printed, etched, and/or embossed thereon. In addition, thesheet of material 12 may have various colorings, coatings, flockingand/or metallic finishes, applied separately or simultaneously or may becharacterized totally or partially by pearlescent, opaque, translucent,transparent, tinted, iridescent or the like, qualities. Each of theabove-named characteristics may occur alone or in combination. Moreover,each surface of the sheet of material 12 may vary in the combination ofsuch characteristics. An example of an ink which may be applied to thesurface of the material to print the patterns and designs described isdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,706, which is hereby expresslyincorporated herein by reference.

[0044] The sheet of material 12 has a width extending generally betweenthe first side 20 and the second side 22, respectively, sufficientlysized whereby the sheet of material 12 can be wrapped about andencompass a floral grouping or a flower pot. The sheet of material 12has a length extending generally between the third side 24 and thefourth side 26, respectively, sufficiently sized whereby the sheet ofmaterial 12 extends over a substantial portion of the floral groupingwhen the sheet of material 12 has been wrapped about the floral groupingin accordance with the present invention, as described in detail herein.The sheet of material 12 may also be wrapped about a flower pot tosubstantially wrap and cover the flower pot in accordance with thepresent invention.

[0045] FIGS. 3-6 illustrate the use of the present invention in wrappinga floral grouping. The sheet of material 12 (which is shown with anoptional strip of bonding material 28 in FIG. 1, but which is shownwithout a bonding material in FIGS. 3-6) is provided, either as anindividual sheet of material 12 or from a pad or roll by any means orother method described herein. Means for dispensing the sheet ofmaterial 12 from a pad or roll of material are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,111,638 and 5,181,364, the specifications of which are herebyexpressly incorporated by reference herein.

[0046] The bonding material 28, if present, may have a backing orrelease strip (not shown). Such backings or release strips are wellknown to those of ordinary skill in the art. The backing or releasestrip may be left applied for a period of time to the bonding material28 after it is disposed on a surface of the sheet of material 12 priorto its use as a wrapping material, to protect the bonding qualities ofthe bonding strip. In operation, an operator may dispose the sheet ofmaterial 12 on a support surface (not shown), the lower surface 16 ofthe sheet of material 12 contacting the support surface. A floralgrouping such as the one designated in FIGS. 3-6 by the generalreference numeral 40 is then provided, and disposed upon the uppersurface 14 of the sheet of material 12. The floral grouping 40 may beany floral grouping having blooms or flowers but preferably comprises anorchid and generally has an upper end comprising a bloom or foliageportion 42 and a lower end comprising a stem portion 44. The floralgrouping 40 may be disposed upon the sheet of material 12 in a diagonalorientation as shown in FIGS. 3-5.

[0047] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the sheet of material 12 is thenwrapped about the floral grouping 40 by the operator, the operatoroverlapping a portion of the sheet of material 12 over another portionof the sheet of material 12. That is, for example, the operator placesthe first side 20 of the sheet of material 12 over the floral grouping40, as shown in FIG. 4. The operator continues to roll the floralgrouping 40 in the direction toward the fourth side 26 until the uppersurface 14 near the fourth side 26 firmly engages the lower surface 16of the sheet of material 12, wherein the floral grouping 40 issubstantially encompassed by the sheet of material 12, and wherein thebonding material 28, if present, may contact both the sheet of material12 and portions of the floral grouping 40 to substantially encompass andsurround a substantial portion of the floral grouping 40. FIG. 5 showsthe floral grouping 40 wrapped in a conical fashion with the bloom orfoliage portion 42 exposed near an open upper end 46 of the wrapper 10and the stem portion 44 exposed near a lower end 48 of the wrapper 10.

[0048] In another embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 6, the sheet ofmaterial 12 is utilized to wrap the floral grouping 40. The floralgrouping 40 is disposed upon the sheet of material 12 approximatelyparallel to the third side 24 of the sheet of material 12. The sheet ofmaterial 12 is wrapped generally about the stem portion 44 of the floralgrouping 40 to a position wherein the third side 24 generally overlapsthe fourth side 26 in a cylindrical fashion. It should be noted that thesheet of material 12 may be wrapped a plurality of times about the stemportion 44 of the floral grouping 40 before the overlapping of the thirdside 24 and the fourth side 26. As before, the portion of the sheet ofmaterial 12 near the third side 24 is disposed generally adjacentanother portion of the sheet of material 12 and the two adjacentportions then are brought into contact where they may be bondinglyengaged thereby securing the sheet of material 12 generally about thefloral grouping 40.

[0049] The sheet of material 12 (or any wrapper described elsewhereherein, such as a sleeve) once wrapped about the floral grouping 40functions under ordinary handling conditions to substantially preventdamage to the bloom or foliage portion 42 of the floral grouping 40 bycrushing. Such damage may be, for example, breakage, bending, orbruising of the petals of the flowers of the bloom or foliage portion42. By ordinary handling conditions is meant the manner typicallyemployed in the floral industry to wrap floral groupings for storage,shipping or sale, especially floral groupings traditionally wrapped inwaxed paper such as orchids.

[0050] In another version of the invention, the sheet of material 12 maybe used to wrap a pot, such as a potted plant, which preferably is anorchid in bloom. Shown in FIG. 7 is a pot designated by the referencenumeral 50 and which has an upper end 52, a bottom end 54, an outerperipheral surface 56, an inner retaining space 58 within which may bedisposed a growing medium. The pot 50 may contain a botanical item 60such as a plant, preferably an orchid, which has an upper portion 62comprising blooms or foliage or both.

[0051] The sheet of material 12 may be wrapped about the pot 50 by anyone of numerous methods used to wrap sheets of material about pots toform decorative pot covers. The sheet of material 12 may, for example,be formed by hand about the outer peripheral surface 56 of the pot 50and held thereto, for example, by a bonding material such as describedelsewhere herein. For example, the wrapper 10 could be held about thepot 60 by an elastic band 64 such as shown in FIG. 8. The elastic band64 could be applied manually or automatically such as by the methodshown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,105,599 which is hereby expressly incorporatedherein by reference. The elastic band 64 could be applied as a tie usinga method such as described in “Single Station Covering and FasteningSystem”, U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,009, the specification of which is herebyexpressly incorporated herein by reference. The sheet of material 12could be applied automatically about the pot 60, for example, by methodsshown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,733,521 and 5,291,721, both of which arehereby expressly incorporated herein by reference.

[0052] The term “bonding material”, when used herein, can mean anadhesive, frequently a pressure sensitive adhesive, or a cohesive or anyadhesive/cohesive combination, having adhesive qualities (i.e.,qualities of adhesion or adhesion/cohesion, respectively) sufficient tocause the attachment of a portion of the sheet of material 12 to itself,to a floral grouping 40, or to a pot 50. Since the bonding material maycomprise either an adhesive or an adhesive/cohesive combination, it willbe appreciated that both adhesives and cohesives are known in the art,and both are commercially available. When the bonding material is acohesive, a similar cohesive material must be placed on the adjacentsurface for bondingly contacting and bondingly engaging with thecohesive material. The term “bonding material” also includes materialswhich are heat sealable and, in this instance, the adjacent portions ofthe material must be brought into contact and then heat must be appliedto effect the seal. The term “bonding material” also includes materialswhich are sonic sealable and vibratory sealable. The term “bondingmaterial” when used herein also means a heat sealing lacquer or hot meltmaterial which may be applied to the material and, in this instance,heat, sound waves, or vibrations, also must be applied to effect thesealing.

[0053] The term “bonding material” when used herein also means any typeof material or thing which can be used to effect the bonding orconnecting of the two adjacent portions of the material or sheet ofmaterial 12 to effect the connection or bonding described herein. Theterm “bonding material” may also include ties, labels, bands, ribbons,strings, tapes (including single or double-sided adhesive tapes),staples or combinations thereof. Some of the bonding materials wouldsecure the ends of the material while other bonding material may bindthe circumference of a wrapper, or a sleeve, or, alternatively and/or inaddition, the bonding materials would secure overlapping folds in thematerial and/or sleeve. Another way to secure the wrapper is to heatseal the ends of the material to another portion of the material. Oneway to do this is to contact the ends with an iron of sufficient heat toheat seal the material.

[0054] Alternatively, a cold seal adhesive may be utilized as thebonding material. The cold seal adhesive adheres only to a similarsubstrate, acting similarly as a cohesive, and binds only to itself. Thecold seal adhesive, since it bonds only to a similar substrate, does notcause a residue to build up on equipment, thereby both permitting muchmore rapid disposition and use of such equipment to form articles andreducing labor costs. Further, since no heat is required to effect theseal, the dwell time, that is, the time for the sheet of material toform and retain the shape of an article, such as a flower pot cover orpot 50, is reduced. A cold seal adhesive binds quickly and easily withminimal pressure, and such a seal is not readily releasable. Thischaracteristic is different from, for example, a pressure sensitiveadhesive.

[0055] The term “bonding material” when used herein also means any heator chemically shrinkable material, and static electrical or otherelectrical materials, chemical welding materials, magnetic materials,mechanical or barb-type fastening materials or clamps, curl-typecharacteristics of the film or materials incorporated in material whichcan cause the material to take on certain shapes, cling films, slots,grooves, shrinkable materials and bands, curl materials, springs, andany type of welding method which may weld portions of the material toitself or to the pot 50, or to both the material itself and the pot 50.

Embodiments of FIGS. 9-15

[0056] Shown in FIG. 9 is a wrapper designated therein by the generalreference numeral 10 a which comprises a flexible bag or sleeve 66having unitary construction and constructed in accordance with thepresent invention. The sleeve 66 may be used as a wrapper 10 a for afloral grouping 40 or a pot 50. The sleeve 66 initially comprises aflexible flat collapsed piece of material which is openable in the formof a tube or sleeve. Such sleeves and their method of construction arewell known in the floral industry. The sleeve 66 may be taperedoutwardly from a lower end 70 toward a larger diameter at an upper end68. In its flattened state, the sleeve 66 generally has an overalltrapezoidal or modified trapezoidal shape, and when opened, issubstantially frusto-conical to coniform. It will be appreciated,however, that the sleeve 66 may comprise variations on theaforementioned shapes or may comprise significantly altered shapes suchas square or rectangular, wherein the sleeve 66, when opened, has acylindrical form, as long as the sleeve 66 functions in accordance withthe present invention in the manner described herein. The sleeve 66 (orany other sleeve disclosed herein) may have an angular or contouredshape.

[0057] As noted above, the sleeve 66 has an upper end 68, a lower end70, and an outer peripheral surface 72. The sleeve 66 has an opening 74at the upper end 68 and may be open at the lower end 70, such as shownin FIG. 11, or closed with a bottom at the lower end 70, such as shownin FIG. 9. The sleeve 66 also has an inner peripheral surface 76 which,when the sleeve 66 is opened, defines and encompasses an inner retainingspace 78 and comprises a layer of waxy material 77. When the lower end70 of the sleeve 66 is closed, a portion of the lower end 70 may beinwardly folded to form one or more gussets 79 for allowing the lowerportion of the sleeve 66 to be expandable, for example, for receivingthe circular bottom of the pot 50 or growing medium or the floralgrouping 40.

[0058] The sleeve 66 is generally frusto-conically shaped, but thesleeve 66 may be, by way of example but not by way of limitation,cylindrical, frusto-conical, a combination of both frusto-conical andcylindrical, or any other shape, as long as the sleeve 66 functions asdescribed herein as noted above. Further, the sleeve 66 may comprise anyshape, whether geometric, non-geometric, asymmetrical and/or fanciful aslong as it functions in accordance with the present invention. Thesleeve 66 may also be equipped with drain holes (if having a closedbottom) or side ventilation holes (not shown), or can be made from gaspermeable or impermeable materials. The sleeve 66 may further comprise adetaching element 80 such as perforations for enabling the separation ofan upper portion of the sleeve above the detaching element 80 from alower portion of the sleeve 66 below the detaching element 80.

[0059] The material from which the sleeve 66 is constructed is the sameas previously described above for the sheet of material 12. Suchmaterials used to construct the sleeve 66 are further described in U.S.Pat. No. 5,111,637, which is hereby expressly incorporated herein byreference. Any thickness of material may be utilized in accordance withthe present invention as long as the sleeve 66 may be formed asdescribed herein, and as long as the formed sleeve 66 may contain atleast a portion of the pot 50 or the plant 60 or the floral grouping 40,as described herein. Additionally, an insulating material such as bubblefilm, preferably one of two or more layers, can be utilized in order toprovide additional protection for the item, such as the floral grouping40, contained therein.

[0060] Shown in FIG. 10 is the sleeve 66 having the floral grouping 40disposed within the inner retaining space 78 thereof. Generally, thebloom or foliage portion 42 of the floral grouping 40 is exposed nearthe opening 74 of the sleeve 66 and the stem portion 44 of the floralgrouping 40 is exposed near the lower end 70 of the sleeve 66. Eitherthe opening 74 or the lower end 70 of the sleeve 66 may be closed aboutthe floral grouping 40. Generally, a portion of the sleeve 66 istightened about a portion of the stem portion 44 of the floral grouping40 for holding the sleeve 66 about the floral grouping 40. For example,the sleeve 66 may be held by a tie 81 tied about the sleeve 66 such asis shown in FIG. 10. Other methods for binding the sleeve 66 may beemployed such as the bonding materials described elsewhere herein. Forexample, a sleeve such as sleeve 66 a having an inner retaining space 78a as shown in FIG. 11 has a cinching tab 82 having a bonding material 84disposed upon a surface thereof. The cinching tab 82 can be used togather portions of the sleeve 66 a together about the stem portion 44 ofthe floral grouping 40 as shown in FIG. 12 for holding the sleeve 66 atightly about the floral grouping 40 disposed within the inner retainingspace 78 a.

[0061] Similarly, it may generally be desired to use the sleeve 66 as awrapper for the pot 50. The pot 50 will generally contain the botanicalitem or plant 60. The pot 50 can be deposited into the opened sleeve 66in a manner well known in the art such as manually wherein the sleeve 66is opened by hand and the pot 50 deposited therein.

[0062] As noted above, the bonding material 86 may optionally bedisposed on a portion of the sleeve 66 or any sleeve described herein toassist in holding the sleeve 66 to the pot 50 when such a pot 50 isdisposed within the sleeve 66 or to assist in closing the upper end 68of the sleeve 66 or adhering the sleeve 66 to the pot 50 after the pot50 has been disposed therein, as will be discussed in further detailbelow.

[0063] It will be understood that the bonding material 86, if present,may be disposed as a strip or block on a surface of the sleeve 66. Thebonding material 86 may also be disposed upon either the outerperipheral surface 72 or the inner peripheral surface 76 of the sleeve66, as well as upon the pot 50. Further, the bonding material 86 may bedisposed as spots of bonding material, or in any other geometric,non-geometric, asymmetric, or fanciful form, and in any patternincluding covering either the entire inner peripheral surface 76 and/orouter peripheral surface 72 of the sleeve 66 and/or the pot 50. Thebonding material 86 may be covered by a cover or release strip (notshown) which can be removed prior to the use of the sleeve 66 or pot 50.The bonding material 86 can be applied by methods known to those ofordinary skill in their art. One method for disposing the bondingmaterial 86, in this case an adhesive, is described in U.S. Pat. No.5,111,637, which is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference.

[0064] As noted above, the bonding material 86 may be disposed on atleast a portion of the inner peripheral surface 76 of the sleeve 66 (orany other sleeve described herein), or, alternatively, the bondingmaterial 86 may be disposed on the outer peripheral surface 56 of thepot 50 contained within the sleeve 66, while the sleeve 66 may be freeof the bonding material 86. In a further alternative, the bondingmaterial 86 may be disposed both on at least a portion of the pot 50 aswell as upon at least a portion of the inner peripheral surface 76 ofthe sleeve 66. In addition, a portion of the bonding material 86 mayalso be disposed on the outer peripheral surface 72 of the sleeve 66 aswell. It will be understood that the bonding material 86 may be disposedin a solid section of bonding material. The bonding material 86 whenpresent is disposed on the sleeve 66 and/or pot 50 by any methods knownin the art.

[0065] Certain versions of sleeves (e.g., 66 or 66 a) described hereinmay be used in combination with a preformed plant cover. For example, apreformed pot cover may be applied to the pot 50, then the covered potmay be wrapped by or disposed within the sleeve 66 or 66 a. Examples ofsleeves which may be used in this invention are shown in thespecification of U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,979, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety. Equipment and devices for formingsleeves are commercially available, and well known in the art.

[0066] Shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 is another wrapper comprising a sleeveconstructed in accordance with the present invention,and designated bythe general reference numeral 66 b. The sleeve 66 b has a “detaching”element 108 in predetermined areas for detaching a portion of the sleeve66 b. The sleeve 66 b generally initially comprises a flexible flatcollapsed piece of material having sealed side edges 94 and 96 and isopenable in the form of a tube or sleeve. The sleeve 66 b is constructedof the same material and in the same way as described previously hereinand may be described exactly the same as the other sleeves (e.g., 66 or66 a) described herein except for the additional elements describedherein.

[0067] The sleeve 66 b has an upper end 88, a lower end 90, an outerperipheral surface 92 and in its flattened state has the sealed firstedge 94 and the sealed second edge 96, as noted above. The sleeve 66 bhas an opening 98 at the upper end 88 and may be open at the lower end90, or closed with a bottom at the lower end 90. The sleeve 66 b alsohas an inner peripheral surface 100 which, when the sleeve 66 b isopened, defines and encompasses an inner retaining space 102 as shown inFIG. 14. When the lower end 90 of the sleeve 66 b is closed, a portionof the lower end 90 may be inwardly folded to form one or more gussets91 for permitting a circular bottom of an object, such as the pot 50 tobe disposed into the inner retaining space 102 of the sleeve 66 b.

[0068] As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the sleeve 66 b is demarcated intoan upper portion 104 and a lower portion 106. The lower portion 106 ofthe sleeve 66 b is generally sized to contain the pot 50. The upperportion 104 of the sleeve 66 b is sized to substantially surround andencompass the plant 60 contained in the pot 50 disposed within the lowerportion 106 of the sleeve 66 b. The sleeve 66 b is demarcated into theupper portion 104 and the lower portion 106 by the detaching element 108for enabling the detachment of the upper portion 104 of the sleeve 66 bfrom the lower portion 106 of the sleeve 66 b. In the present version,the detaching element 108 is a plurality of generallylaterally-oriented, alternatingly diagonally-oriented, or curvedperforations which extend circumferentially across the outer peripheralsurface 92 of the sleeve 66 b from the sealed first side 94 to thesealed second side 96. The detaching element 108 may also be linear.

[0069] In a preferred embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the lowerportion 106 of the sleeve 66 b further comprises a base portion 110 anda skirt portion 112. The base portion 110 comprises that part of thelower portion 106 which, when the pot 50 is placed into the lowerportion 106, has an inner peripheral surface which is substantiallyadjacent to and surrounds the outer peripheral surface 56 of the pot 50.The skirt portion 112 comprises that part of the lower portion 106 whichextends beyond the upper end 52 of the pot 50 and adjacent at least aportion of the plant 60 contained within the pot 50 and which is left tofreely extend at an angle, inwardly or outwardly, from the base portion110 when the upper portion 104 of the sleeve 66 b is detached from thelower portion 106 of the sleeve 66 b by actuation of the detachingelement 108.

[0070] In the intact sleeve 66 b, the skirt portion 112 comprises anupper-peripheral edge 113 congruent with the detaching element 108 ofthe sleeve 66 b. In FIGS. 13 and 14, the upper peripheral edge 113 ofthe skirt portion 112 is congruent with a series of alternatinglydiagonally-oriented lines of perforations which together form a zig-zagand comprise the detaching element 108. The upper portion 104 of thesleeve 66 b may also have an additional detaching element 114 indicatedas a plurality of vertical perforations for facilitating removal of theupper portion 104 and which are disposed more or less vertically thereinextending between the detaching element 108 and the upper end 88 of thesleeve 66 b.

[0071] The upper portion 104 of the sleeve 66 b is thereby separablefrom the lower portion 106 of the sleeve 66 b by tearing the upperportion 104 along both the detaching element 114 and the detachingelement 108, thereby separating the upper portion 104 from the lowerportion 106 of the sleeve 66 b. The lower portion 106 of the sleeve 66 bremains disposed as the base portion 110 about the pot 50 and as theskirt portion 112 about the plant 60 forming a decorative cover 116 asshown in FIG. 15 which substantially surrounds and encompasses the pot50 and the plant 60 contained therein. In one version of the invention,only the skirt portion 112 and upper portion 104 of the sleeve may beconstructed of the laminate of waxy material, while the base portion 110is constructed of another material.

[0072] “Detaching element” as used herein, means any element, orcombination of elements, or features, such as, but not by way oflimitation, perforations, tear strips, zippers, and any other devices orelements of this nature known in the art, or any combination thereof.Therefore, while perforations are shown and described in detail herein,it will be understood that tear strips, tear starts, zippers, or anyother “detaching elements” known in the art, or any combination thereof,could be substituted therefor and/or used therewith.

[0073] In a general method of use of sleeves 66-66 b as a wrapper forthe pot 50, an operator provides the sleeve 66, 66 a or 66 b, and thepot 50 having the plant 60 disposed in a growing medium contained withinthe pot 50. The operator then disposes the pot 50 having the plant 60contained therein into the sleeve by opening the sleeve at its upper endand assuring both that the opening therein is in an open condition, andthat the inner peripheral surface of the sleeve is somewhat expandedoutward as well, as shown in FIG. 14. The operator then manually orautomatically disposes the pot 50 into the opening in the sleeve, thepot 50 being disposed generally through the upper portion of the sleeveinto generally the lower portion of the sleeve, the pot remaining in thelower portion of the sleeve, permitting the sleeve to substantiallysurround and tightly encompass the pot. It will be understood thatalternatively, the sleeve may be equipped with holes to facilitate thecarrying or support of the sleeve on rods or wickets (not shown), andthe pot then being disposed in the sleeve either before or after thesleeve has been removed from the wickets.

Embodiments of FIGS. 16-17

[0074] In another version of the invention, the wrapper may be adecorative preformed plant cover which is used to substantially surroundand encompass a pot or potted plant. Shown in FIG. 16 is a decorativepreformed pot cover designated by the numeral 118.

[0075] The decorative preformed pot cover 118 has an upper end 120, alower end 122, and an outer peripheral surface 124. An opening 126intersects the upper end 120, forming an inner peripheral surface 128which defines and encompasses a retaining space 129 within which the pot50 or potted plant may be disposed in a manner well known in the art andwhich is shown in FIG. 17.

[0076] Methods for forming such preformed decorative pot covers are wellknown in the art. Two methods of forming such covers are described inU.S. Pat. Nos. 4,773,182 and 5,291,721, both of which are herebyexpressly incorporated by reference herein.

[0077] Further, in accordance with the present invention, the decorativepreformed pot cover 118 is constructed from the same materials describedherein above for the construction of the sheet of material 12 and mayhave a bonding material disposed upon a portion thereof.

Embodiments of FIGS. 18-20

[0078] In an alternate version of the invention, the floral grouping 40may be wrapped with a quantity of a shredded material 130 for providinga cushion when the floral grouping 40 is wrapped with a sheet ofmaterial 12 a or with the sleeve 66, 66 a or 66 b, as described above.The shredded material 130 is preferably formed by shredding the samematerial as comprises the sheet of material 12 a. The shredded material130 may be any shredded material such as paper or polymeric film whichfunctions to cushion the floral grouping 40 within the wrapper. Thematerial may be shredded using shredding methods such as are well knownin the art, for example, using a paper shredding device. The shreddedmaterial 130 may be placed upon an upper surface 14 a of the sheet ofmaterial 12 a along with the floral grouping 40, as shown in FIG. 18.The sheet of material 12 a is then wrapped about the floral grouping 40and shredded material 130 in a manner described above to form a wrappedfloral grouping 132 such as shown in FIG. 19.

[0079] Alternatively, the shredded material 130 may be placed within theinner retaining space 78 a of the sleeve 66 a along with the floralgrouping 40. The sleeve 66 a is wrapped about the floral grouping 40 andshredded material 130 in a manner disclosed above to form a wrappedfloral grouping such as is shown in FIG. 20. In one version of the sheetof material 12 a shown in FIG. 18, the upper surface 14 a comprises theexposed surface of any one of the materials described above which may beused in the construction of any one of the layers of the sheet ofmaterial 12. In a preferred version, the upper surface 14 a of the sheetof material comprises a waxy material as described above. In one versionof the sleeve 66 a shown in FIG. 20, an inner peripheral surface 76 a ofthe sleeve 66 a comprises the exposed surface of any one of thematerials described above including those not having a waxy materialconnected or laminated thereto which may be used in the construction ofany one of the layers of the sheet of material 12. In a preferredversion, the inner peripheral surface 76 a of the sleeve 66 a comprisesa waxy material connected or laminated to a sheet of material asdescribed above.

[0080] Changes may be made in the construction and the operation of thevarious components, elements and assemblies described herein or in thesteps or the sequence of steps of the methods described herein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of wrapping a floral grouping comprisingthe steps of: providing a floral grouping comprising a bloom portion;providing a wrapper comprising a flexible bilayered sheet of materialcomprising a waxy layer and a support layer, the waxy layer constructedfrom a sheet of waxy material and superposed upon a first surface of thesupport layer and connected thereto; and placing the wrapper comprisingthe flexible bilayered sheet of material about the floral grouping suchthat the waxy layer is positioned adjacent the bloom portion wherein thewrapper comprising the flexible bilayered sheet of materialsubstantially encompasses the bloom portion, the wrapper comprising theflexible bilayered sheet of material having an upper end and a lowerend.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein in the step of providing thewrapper comprising the flexible bilayered sheet of material, the wrappercomprising the bilayered sheet of material is constructed from atransparent, translucent or opaque material.
 3. The method of claim 1wherein in the step of providing the wrapper comprising the flexiblebilayered sheet of material, the flexible bilayered sheet of material isfurther defined as constructed from a material having a thickness in arange of from about 0.1 mil to about 30 mils.
 4. The method of claim 1wherein in the step of providing the wrapper comprising the flexiblebilayered sheet of material, the support layer of the wrapper comprisingthe flexible bilayered sheet of material is defined as constructed froma material selected from the group consisting of treated or untreatedpaper, metal foil, polymeric film, non-polymeric film, cardboard, cloth,burlap, and laminations or combinations thereof.
 5. The method of claim1 wherein in the step of providing the wrapper comprising the flexiblebilayered sheet of material, the wrapper comprising the flexiblebilayered sheet of material is further defined as having a portion whichis detachable via a detaching element.
 6. The method of claim 1comprising the additional step of sealing the upper end of the wrappercomprising the flexible bilayered sheet of material about the floralgrouping.
 7. The method of claim 1 comprising the additional step ofsealing the lower end of the wrapper comprising the flexible bilayeredsheet of material about the floral grouping.
 8. The method of claim 1comprising the additional step of sealing both the upper end and thelower end of the wrapper comprising the flexible bilayered sheet ofmaterial about the floral grouping.
 9. The method of claim 1 comprisingthe additional step of providing a shredded material and placing aquantity of the shredded material about the bloom portion of the floralgrouping for cushioning the bloom portion.
 10. The method of claim 14wherein the shredded material comprises shreds having a waxy layer and asupport layer, the waxy layer comprising a waxy material, and the waxylayer connected to the support layer.
 11. The method of claim 1 whereinin the step of providing a floral grouping, the floral groupingcomprises an orchid.
 12. The method of claim 1 wherein after the step ofplacing the wrapper comprising the flexible bilayered sheet of material,damage to the bloom portion of the floral grouping by crushing issubstantially inhibited by the wrapper comprising the flexible bilayeredsheet of material under ordinary handling conditions.
 13. The method ofclaim 1 comprising the additional step of securing the wrappercomprising the flexible bilayered sheet of material about the floralgrouping via a bonding material selected from the group consisting ofbands, adhesives, cohesives, heat sealable materials, ties, labels,ribbons, strings, tapes, and heat shrinkable materials.
 14. A method ofwrapping a floral grouping, the method comprising the steps of:providing a floral grouping comprising a bloom portion; providing awrapper comprising a flexible sheet of material comprising a first waxylayer, a support layer and a second waxy layer, the support layersandwiched between the first waxy layer and the second waxy layer, thefirst waxy layer superposed upon a first surface of the support layerand connected thereto, and the second waxy layer superposed upon asecond surface of the support layer and connected thereto; and whereinthe first waxy layer and the second waxy layer are each constructed froma sheet of waxy material; and placing the wrapper comprising theflexible sheet of material about the floral grouping such that at leastone of the first waxy layer and the second waxy layer is positionedadjacent the bloom portion wherein the wrapper comprising the flexiblesheet of material substantially encompasses the bloom portion, thewrapper comprising the flexible bilayered sheet of material having anupper end and a lower end.
 15. The method of claim 14 comprising theadditional step of sealing the upper end of the wrapper comprising theflexible sheet of material about the floral grouping.
 16. The method ofclaim 14 comprising the additional step of sealing the lower end of thewrapper comprising the flexible sheet of material about the floralgrouping.
 17. The method of claim 14 comprising the additional step ofsealing both the upper end and lower end of the wrapper comprising theflexible sheet of material about the floral grouping.
 18. The method ofclaim 14 comprising the additional step of providing a shredded materialand placing a quantity of the shredded material onto the wrappercomprising the flexible sheet of material generally about the bloomportion of the floral grouping for cushioning the bloom portion.
 19. Themethod of claim 18 wherein the shredded material comprises shreds havinga waxy layer and a support layer, the waxy layer comprising a waxymaterial, and the waxy layer connected to the support layer.
 20. Themethod of claim 14 wherein in the step of providing a floral grouping,the floral grouping comprises an orchid.
 21. The method of claim 14wherein after the step of placing the wrapper comprising the flexiblebilayered sheet of material, damage to the bloom portion of the floralgrouping by crushing is substantially inhibited by the wrappercomprising the bilayered flexible sheet of material under ordinaryhandling conditions.
 22. The method of claim 14 comprising theadditional step of securing the wrapper comprising the flexiblebilayered sheet of material about the floral grouping via a bondingmaterial selected from the group consisting of bands, adhesives,cohesives, heat sealable materials, ties, labels, ribbons, strings,tapes, and heat shrinkable materials.